Data Scientists in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$82,197
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$27,193
24.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$95,017
Arkansas costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arkansas — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$109,390
Kept after tax
$82,197
Worth in national money
$95,017
State rank
17
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Arkansas pays data scientists around $109,390 at the midpoint, 17 of 49 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 489 occupations Arkansas reports, data scientists comes in at 22 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Arkansas is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $109,390 the take-home is $82,197; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $95,017 would nationally. The average comes to $116,320, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For data scientists the Arkansas median is $109,390, ranking 17 of 49 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Data scientists ranks 22 of 489 occupations by median in Arkansas, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Post-tax income for data scientists in Arkansas, on $109,390, is $82,197 — equivalent to $95,017 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $116,320 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Data Scientists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $67,090 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $109,390 |
| Top tenth earn over | $169,110 |
| This salary | $109,390 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Arkansas | $82,197 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $85,786 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$6,737 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $104,289 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$9,306 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Arkansas earn less than $109,390. The published range is $67,090 up to $169,110, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Arkansas's $82,197, worked from $109,390. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 22 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $95,017 uses one figure for the whole of Arkansas. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 22.
- Reported values are medians; for data scientists in Arkansas the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $67,090 to $169,110. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Arkansas take-home of $82,197, on $109,390 for work ranking 22 of 489 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 22 of 489 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $95,017, worked from $109,390, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Arkansas address, on work sitting at 22 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $116,320 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $67,090 at the bottom tenth to $169,110 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Arkansas is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $95,017 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Arkansas then takes its own share, leaving $82,197.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 49 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Arkansas is $116,320. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($67,090) and the ninetieth ($169,110) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Arkansas's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $95,017 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $82,197 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arkansas income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.